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I'm just posting to remind everyone that the trailer will be available in seven hours (!) on the official website before its television debut. Additionally, SFX will be revealing something at midnight, though it seems, due to KingMinun's post, that it may have already leaked. I'm still going to stay up and hope for more, but I doubt it now.

That image is so amazing. Why do we have to wait a just over three weeks (!)? ;_;

Well. If there was ever a way to make me more excited about Asylum of the Daleks than I already was simply by virtue of Dalek episode by Steven Moffat, this is probably it. The variety of Daleks and explosions in the background definitely help with the impact and everything, but the main point is that Amy is apparently dead. And of course we know that Amy can't actually die in the episode, but the Doctor doesn't know that and the look on his face and aaaaaa. (Did I ever mention that I really enjoy those moments when the Doctor goes all terrifying? Because I do. I have no idea why.)

And this is also making me think about how, at the end of last series, the Doctor had finally managed to leave Amy and Rory safe at home where nothing bad would ever happen to them any more, but seeing an image like this just drives home what a potentially dangerous thing it was/will be for them to be back on the TARDIS again. (I really, really hope that the issue of them rejoining the Doctor despite everything is addressed somehow. It has to be.) So for something like this to happen to Amy after the Doctor had not so long ago thought she'd be safe forever, when it's probably largely down to him that she continued adventuring... what is that going to do to him? And it was probably done by Daleks, who always make things inherently more emotional and personal for the Doctor with their mere presence, even without something like this happening.

This. I want. Now.

I do wonder slightly if this image is entirely for Asylum of the Daleks, or if maybe it's a bit more abstract and kind of covers the entire first half of the series. It's possible the "Daleks!" part and the "Amy is apparently dead!" part aren't actually connected in an episode, and the latter is there because of episode 5 (what with all the stuff we've been hearing about how not everyone's getting out of it alive), which would mean all my extra excitement about Asylum is unfounded. But even if so, it's still just an awesome picture.

The Eleventh's reaction to this pretty much sums up mine, too. Just... wow.

And if the epicness of that image is anything to go by, tomorrow's trailer is going to be mind-blowing. I'm actually planning to not watch it as soon as it becomes available online so that I can instead see it for the first time when it shows on BBC One in the evening. Seeing a trailer on the BBC is always one of the things that makes it really sink in for me that the new series is not far off, and I want that feeling in its full glory this time, too. =D

Though that said, that image has already got me massively hyped.

twenty four daaays~!

-elyvorg/Amelia

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010

Okay guys I bring you a link to the new trailer for Series 7 part A!
As usual, you've been warned, they contain spoilers!!!!! So please don't open unless you don't mind.
So here's the epicness of the trailer! Spoiler:- Trailer:

Like elyvorg, I was planning on watching the trailer as it airs on BBC One. But, of course, I simply couldn't resist. I'll still be watching it later on, though.

Spoiler:- Trailer:

I don't want to over-analyse it, so I'm just going to post my immediate thoughts. It's a great trailer, though the Series 4 one still hasn't been topped. Obviously, Daleks. Lots of them. They also appear to have a human servant, which will be great to see. Those dinosaurs look very impressive. Also, Nefertiti. Yay. The Doctor's speech and Amy's reply from A Town Called Mercy is very interesting, too.

The statue blowing out Rory's candle was brilliant. I hope this means that we'll be seeing more forms of Weeping Angels at last, since the ending of Blink implied that they could appear like any statue. Oh, no; I've thought of something that may occur (perhaps it's even likely). What if the Statue of Liberty is a Weeping Angel? I can definitely see that happening.

Also, KingMinun, there's no need to use a spoiler tag if the only thing it's hiding is a link. Just make it clear what the link is to, so that choosing to click the link will be the equivalent of choosing to click a spoiler tag. It's not as if anyone will be spoiled by seeing a Youtube URL. =P

Yaaaaay trailer!

Spoiler:- Stuff from the trailer, with speculation and rambling:

Daleks! So many Daleks this is going to be epic. Interestingly, they all seem to be RTD-era Daleks with a couple of Paradigm ones - none of the massive variety we've heard there's going to be. Are the rest of them not coming to this massive kill-the-Doctor Dalek meet? Actually, I wonder: the Doctor blowing up all of the Daleks seems like it would be the climax of the episode, except, it can't be, because it's being shown in a trailer. They'd never show the climax of an episode that explicitly in a trailer. So then what happens next? How is it not over after that?

Also piquing my interest from the Dalek episode is the Doctor promising Amy and Rory (but mostly Amy, by the looks of it) that they'll get through this. It's as adorable as such things always are, but the thing is, I thought he'd stopped doing that. I thought that after the end of last series the Doctor was making an effort to have less of a god complex and not to lie that everything will be all right if it might not be. At Christmas, when the kids were trapped in the forest, he never promised that he could definitely get them out; he was really quite honest about how little chance they had and merely promised that he'd try. Whereas here... hmm. But this is just me being a silly elyvorg who overanalyses the Doctor too much so ignore me.

That guy with the rifle and the hat - that's Howard Carter, right? I think I remember reading somewhere that he'd be in episode 2. That's... it really shouldn't be surprising, since if there's dinosaurs on this spaceship then anything else is positively ordinary, but I still find it so wonderfully mad. I love this universe.

Speaking of dinosaurs, they are riding a triceratops. That is beyond crazily awesome. Also, raptors! One of my favourite kinds of dinosaur. And the Doctor just had to get in a title drop, didn't he? (My favourite part about that line of his is the fact that he has to be dragged away afterwards by an exasperated Amy. x3 Oh, those two.)

I too am very intrigued by that exchange between the Doctor and Amy in A Town Called Mercy. It's definitely got me even more interested in that episode - I had no idea the fact the town is called Mercy would end up being all relevant to charactery stuff with the Doctor. It's looking like this episode will have much more to it than just being a silly fun romp in the Wild West. (Then again, I should really have expected that, since it's written by the guy who wrote The God Complex. Which, incidentally, is also a title that turned out to be far more character-relevant than it originally seemed, isn't it? Hee. =D)

River! I was honestly beginning to think we might not be seeing her this series, so I'm glad to know that's not the case.

A new variety of Weeping Angel! Maybe the last thirty seconds of Blink really will turn out to be worth something after all. And given this, yes, I definitely wouldn't be surprised if the Statue of Liberty were a Weeping Angel. (New York is such a busy city that there must be at least someone looking at it every moment of every day and night, right?)

It's a pretty awesome trailer. :3 I am so starting to get into the pre-series-anticipation frame of mind now. Whee!

twenty-three days to go!

-elyvorg/Amelia

Last edited by elyvorg; 3rd August 2012 at 12:18 AM.

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010

Dinosaurs on a spaceship with Rory's dad?! This will most likely be the best Doctor Who episode ever! the Doctor's "Dinosaurs...on a spaceship! 8D!" pretty much sums up my feelings about it. And raptors! Hooray for raptors! And pterodactyls! And I can only hope that Rory's dad is as awkward and awesome as his son.

That's also a lot of Daleks.

Hm. That was shorter than it was originally going to be. I still can't wait for the series to start though.

Also, KingMinun, there's no need to use a spoiler tag if the only thing it's hiding is a link. Just make it clear what the link is to, so that choosing to click the link will be the equivalent of choosing to click a spoiler tag. It's not as if anyone will be spoiled by seeing a Youtube URL. =P

Yaaaaay trailer!

Spoiler:- Stuff from the trailer, with speculation and rambling:

Daleks! So many Daleks this is going to be epic. Interestingly, they all seem to be RTD-era Daleks with a couple of Paradigm ones - none of the massive variety we've heard there's going to be. Are the rest of them not coming to this massive kill-the-Doctor Dalek meet? Actually, I wonder: the Doctor blowing up all of the Daleks seems like it would be the climax of the episode, except, it can't be, because it's being shown in a trailer. They'd never show the climax of an episode that explicitly in a trailer. So then what happens next? How is it not over after that?

Also piquing my interest from the Dalek episode is the Doctor promising Amy and Rory (but mostly Amy, by the looks of it) that they'll get through this. It's as adorable as such things always are, but the thing is, I thought he'd stopped doing that. I thought that after the end of last series the Doctor was making an effort to have less of a god complex and not to lie that everything will be all right if it might not be. At Christmas, when the kids were trapped in the forest, he never promised that he could definitely get them out; he was really quite honest about how little chance they had and merely promised that he'd try. Whereas here... hmm. But this is just me being a silly elyvorg who overanalyses the Doctor too much so ignore me.

That guy with the rifle and the hat - that's Howard Carter, right? I think I remember reading somewhere that he'd be in episode 2. That's... it really shouldn't be surprising, since if there's dinosaurs on this spaceship then anything else is positively ordinary, but I still find it so wonderfully mad. I love this universe.

Speaking of dinosaurs, they are riding a triceratops. That is beyond crazily awesome. Also, raptors! One of my favourite kinds of dinosaur. And the Doctor just had to get in a title drop, didn't he? (My favourite part about that line of his is the fact that he has to be dragged away afterwards by an exasperated Amy. x3 Oh, those two.)

I too am very intrigued by that exchange between the Doctor and Amy in A Town Called Mercy. It's definitely got me even more interested in that episode - I had no idea the fact the town is called Mercy would end up being all relevant to charactery stuff with the Doctor. It's looking like this episode will have much more to it than just being a silly fun romp in the Wild West. (Then again, I should really have expected that, since it's written by the guy who wrote The God Complex. Which, incidentally, is also a title that turned out to be far more character-relevant than it originally seemed, isn't it? Hee. =D)

River! I was honestly beginning to think we might not be seeing her this series, so I'm glad to know that's not the case.

A new variety of Weeping Angel! Maybe the last thirty seconds of Blink really will turn out to be worth something after all. And given this, yes, I definitely wouldn't be surprised if the Statue of Liberty were a Weeping Angel. (New York is such a busy city that there must be at least someone looking at it every moment of every day and night, right?)

It's a pretty awesome trailer. :3 I am so starting to get into the pre-series-anticipation frame of mind now. Whee!

twenty-three days to go!

-elyvorg/Amelia

Okay gotcha, just wanted to make sure that if you were clicking the trailer, you really really really were certain you wanted to see some of the new stuff and not have some stuff spoiled.

As for the trailer Spoiler:- Trailer and some River Song stuff:

I think the trailer really has highlighted how close The Doctor and Amy really are, its not something I have honestly noticed much within Series 5 and 6, okay she brought him back and all, and she travels with him, but it really shows how much Amy knows the Doctor, with the pulling him away and the little speech in "A Town Called Mercy".

As for River Song, she was spotted in the USA filming, and she also appeared in Cardiff filming with some real life statues not Weeping Angels, so I guess its going back to what Blink originally said that all statues can be Weeping Angels, and its the only times she's been seen filming, so looks like she's only in Episode 5, Amy and Rory's last episode. I also recall at the Convention in Cardiff, Moffat said something about River having a smaller role in Series 7 as Series 6 was her series. So after this appearance in episode 5, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see her until the 2013 specials. In fact, part of me thinks that's when we see her first meet the Doctor, for the 50th anniversary, since River is Moffat's creation, I expect her to play a big part in the 50th. Anyway, I'm rambling on about River too much.....

So yeah, I can't wait for the 25th August now, its so close, 3 weeks away.

EDIT: So an actor for the upcoming series 7 episodes has been announced. Richard E. Grant. I'm not familiar with his work, but he played the 9th Doctor in 2003 in an animated webisode series. And apparently also played the 9th Doctor in something else before being retconned and Christopher Eccleston being the 9th Doctor. This has had many Doctor Who fans raging because of a Twitter PR stunt in which an "iconic" cast member was to be announced. Richard E. Grant was revealed and fans are angry about the wording of the PR stunt and are even criticizing R.E.G's work because of it, talk about over-reacting. But nonetheless, no details of who he is playing, or what he's doing have been revealed. I think he could be playing Clara's father, grandfather, uncle, some sort of family member. It'd be nice to have one of the companions with a father and not a mother this time. Rose and Donna both lost their fathers, it would be nice to have a change and have Clara and her father. But yeah, that's just who I think he'll be.

06/08/2012 EDIT: So today, I went to watch some filming, however, it was an inside shoot, however, I did see Richard E. Grant. And a car pulled up, and inside was someone underneath a big purple hoody who was rushed into the building, so it has left us wondering who was under there. At the end of the day, Matt Smith came out of the building, hopped into the car, and as they drove off, they stopped right in front of me and a few others, i was stood right in the front of everyone, and Matt put his hand up, and waved! I almost fainted :P Twas an awesome day.

Why do you like Doctor Who?
Now being caught up with the modern series, I can still honestly say that there is so much to like. I like the heroes, the Doctor, his companions (for the most part), and the incidental heroes that pop-up from time to time. And I like the monsters, they’re often the sort of monsters that don’t seem very scary, until weeks later when your alone in the dark and think you see the reflection off a Dalek’s eyestalk. And obviously I love whole concept of a spaceship that can go anywhere looking like a wooden police box, because the Doctor was to busy picking up temporal hitchhikers and saving the human race to bother fixing it. Then of course there’s the looks on people’s face when they watch it, you can see the gears turning, ’cause they’re fascinated.

Who’s your favourite Doctor?
The 10th Doctor is still my favorite I think. I like all the regenerations I’ve encountered. But he’s a little more mature and rational than 11, still if you don’t have dementia at 903, you’re probably not going to get it. (Speaking of irrational, which regeneration do you suppose it was that threw the T.A.R.D.I.S.’s instruction manual into a supernova? As mentioned by 11.) I’ve also been reading “Empire of Broken Glass”, and I must say I rather adore the 1st Doctor’s feigning senility whenever it was convenient not to have to talk about something, ‘Oh that? Ah, I don’t remember.’ The younger Doctors just can’t get away with that, but it’s cute when the older Doctors do.

Desired character title?
Sally Sparrow
(Though if I ever get a chance to Doctor Who cosplay somewhere, I’d probably go as Miss Foster.)

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

I just took good look at the new trailer, and I'll now speculate (be warned, these "speculations" are the result of over-analysing small details and running with the results. It's fun).

Spoiler:- Rambling:

* In what I'll assume is the Asylum of the Daleks, there are many of the old non-Power Ranger standard color daleks, but two red New Paradigm daleks can be seen at 00:11. And that just might be a dalek-human at 00:44. But those were considered inferior by the other daleks, and were all killed by Dalek Caan. Likewise, the New Paradigm daleks view all the other daleks as inferior. So from this (if I'm correct), it seems there's an established caste system. I wonder if we'll be seeing a New Paradigm Dalek Emporer. Although honestly I'd be just fine if one didn't show up.

* I wonder what that ice planet is for... I'm reminded of Yggdrasil, "The World Tree" of norse mythology. Take what you will from this, I'm in a hurry.

* The Doctor seems to feel very guilty for "killing with mercy". I find it interesting that he mentions "the Masters." Seems he feels guilty for making The Master regenerate so many times. Also, apparently he's been traveling alone. That's never good for the Doctor, but the results are always compelling.

And that's it for now.

Also,

That’s what interests me about the Doctor because, actually, look at the blood on the man’s hands. Nine hundred years, countless very selfish choices, and he’s literally blown planets up. His own race, you know, that’s all on his hands. Which is why I think he has to make silly jokes and wear a fez. Because if he didn’t, he’d hang himself.

I'd forgotten about that quote. Seems kind of odd exploring this after David Tennant's doctor, but that oddness just gets assimilated by the implications it has on regeneration. Resolved guilt gets resurfaced, and this makes sense, because a new man needs new ways to cope.

Although when I said dark side, I meant a more Seventh Doctor kind of dark. But comparing the current Doctor and the Seventh gives an interesting contrast. On the one hand, we have a whimsical Doctor who hides an angry yet guilty side, and on the other, we have a whimsical Doctor who is actually very manipulative. And I wouldn't be making this comparison if it weren't for the Dreamlord, a highly manipulative dark side of the Doctor. And to top it all off, the old series was cancelled during the Seventh Doctor's run. Wherever they were going with that is still up in the air, and what better place than in the Doctor's second to last regeneration.

I'm going to bed now.

Last edited by Wasarym; 10th August 2012 at 6:12 AM.

I lost my DSi with my Black version in it. 3DS FC: 0774-4658-6515 If you wanna' swap, tell me on my profile page.

Well, it seems Doctor Who may not be airing on 25th August, as previously thought. Doctor Who Magazine has been delayed until 30th August/7th September (a precise date hasn't been issued), and it features a preview of the first few episodes. It's worth pointing out that the delay has nothing to do with the series itself; the magazine missed its allocated printing times. However, there hasn't been much of a fuss made about this, so it seems Asylum of the Daleks won't be broadcast until after the 30th. Besides, an air date hasn't been announced yet, and I doubt they'd leave it this late if it were to be shown in ten days' time. Oh well.

Moving onto more exciting news, the first episode was screened tonight at the BFI (which means spoilers are out there! Aaah! Must. Avoid.). An SFX reporter tweeted, "Utterly blown away by 'Asylum Of The Daleks'. Strongest season opener yet. Epic, heart-punching, hilarious... and sneaky." I can't wait! Why are the BBC so evil? D: Also, the opening credits have been updated. There's a "revamped logo, no more swooshy cast credits [and] new typography." I presume the new logo is this one, which has featured on merchandise and media, such as DWM. The only change is the placement of the "DW" TARDIS. I find it rather pointless; I much preferred the previous one. I'm interested in seeing how the lack of "swooshy cast credits" will work; they've been like that for a long time.

The titles of Episodes Four and Five have also been confirmed.

Spoiler:- Titles:

Four is called The Power of Three (previously titled Cubed), while Amy and Rory's final episode is The Angels Take Manhattan. These are pretty cool titles. :D I love how cheesy TPOT is. It's weird having TATM, when Karen Gillan stared in a drama called We'll Take Manhattan only a few months ago. I still absolutely love it, though.

-The Eleventh/Rory Williams

e: Ooh! A date has actually been announced. I've just come across it. Asylum of the Daleks shall air on BBC One on 1st September. That means there are only two more Who-less Saturdays. Molto bene!

Wow, this is weird. Series 7 Part 1 will air only in September (there are five Saturdays). One series in one month. Strange. So we'll have to wait through October, November and most of December for the Christmas Special. That's not too bad. After all, we've just endured over eight months of no Who. ;_;

Okay, so I haven't had much Who talk in ages. So I'll join the club again!

Why do you like Doctor Who?
I find there are many reasons to like Doctor Who. Firstly it's just a hell of a lot of fun. Bowties, cool hats, time travel, I'm really one for all of those things. Next, this applies especially to Moffat's Who, it's especially silly, but serious at the same time. It always starts out joke-y when the Doctor, Amy and Rory leave the TARDIS. Then it becomes more and more meaningful. And everyone the Doctor meets is either A) better for it or B) dead. And another thing I love are the monsters/aliens. Y'all know I love to fear the Weeping Angels, and also the Silence. They give you a heck of a fright. Oh, and also the characters. All of them are better off for knowing the Doctor (except for Donna, poor Donna). Is that enough reasons?Who's your favourite Doctor?
Well my first Doctor (Ten) is always awesome. He's always the one who has to make the hard decisions, and Tennant is also a really good actor. But I also like Eleven now. He's just awesome and wacky but still very complex. So yeah, love 'em both.Desired character title?
Weeping Angel. Favorite monster of mine.

TBH I haven't been following DW much since last series. Honestly I haven't been watching it much (like re-watching). But I'm gonna try to find the new series online so I can watch it with y'all and then speculate. But I feel this series, unlike last series, won't have as much speculation. I mean last time we had "who is River?", "who are the silence?" and in general there was a big build-up to an awesome series finale. This time I think it's not gonna be like that at all (just a feeling).

I'll start posting some stuff once I read through like every single thing y'all have posted since the club started (I need to catch up!).

Ah, the bottom of the 2nd page, that was close. So I'm super excited now with the trailers, posters and with it being just around the corner. Once again, I went to filming last week which again was nearby me, Matt and Jenna are constantly rushed into the buildings to film, it gets annoying, and to make it worse, the same group of people turn up with their huge cameras trying to take pictures of every little detail and standing in other people's way to get photos, and then to make it worse, they post them on the internet trying to get as many views as possible and then leak the story to others, spoiling it, and I turn up to filming shoots, but don't pay attention to what's going on because I don't want to spoil it, but they turn up with the intention to spoil it for others, where as I only go to meet the cast and to get a picture and autograph with them. Gah these guys really annoy me, and they stand there talking really loudly about what the stories are, without a care for the rest of us, they spoiled a story for series 7 for me a few days ago, its just really annoyed me and ruined the experience of going to watch filming. But yeah I ranted.....

In other news, it looks like the UK airdate is either 1st September or the 8th instead, where as the US release date is the 8th apparently according to some trailer, which if this is true, is kinda annoying that the US get a confirmed airdate before the UK.

And finally, I'm booked for my trip next month, my 3 night stay in Birmingham (not abroad ) at the Hilton. Why? There's a Doctor Who convention there of course, and so far its guests are David Tennant, the lady who plays Trinity Wells (the US news reporter in the Doctor Who and its spin offs), one of the cavemen from the very first serial "An Unearthly Child" and a writer for Doctor Who (Fires of Pompeii) and Torchwood (Sleeper). I'm very excited, and I'm hoping they get Freema to come along, I've bought a silver ticket which means I get a photo and autograph with all the guests which means.... I GET A PHOTO WITH DAVID TENNANT! MY DOCTOR!!!!! and his autograph too, but I already have that.

In other Doctor Who related news:
Russell T Davies' new tv show is due to air around October, "Wizards Vs Aliens" so be sure to look out for that (And look out for me in it, as an extra who stands right behind the main cast in one scene)
And Russell T Davies is working on a show for Cbeebies, its half live action and half film, the story is about an old man who tells his grandchildren and friends stories about when he was a child, the show stars Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott) as the main character and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) who is the supporting lead.

So the series isn't starting in August after all. :< Hopefully it'll be September 1st instead, then. (At least this makes me feel slightly less bad about the fact I've kind of failed to post in here for over two weeks. D: )

VampirateMace: Welcome back. Nice to hear you've caught up with everything; I almost envy you having been able to see all those episodes for the first time. Now you can participate in discussion without having to worry about spoilers or not knowing what we're talking about, too.

kjt: Welcome back to you, too. I remember you being a pretty awesome contributor back when you were around in the old club. Hopefully you can find a way to watch the new series at the same time as us so you can keep up with our discussion! Though you're right that there'll probably be less to speculate on this time around. It seems series 7 is less about complex mystery and more about big, mad, movie-poster concepts for individual episodes. (Just look at the title of episode 2.) But still. I hope you enjoy it here!

Originally Posted by KingMinun

In fact, part of me thinks that's when we see her first meet the Doctor, for the 50th anniversary...

Huh? We've already seen when River first meets the Doctor - remember Let's Kill Hitler? They're not actually going in exactly opposite directions, despite how she's described it.

EDIT: So an actor for the upcoming series 7 episodes has been announced. Richard E. Grant. [...] But nonetheless, no details of who he is playing, or what he's doing have been revealed. I think he could be playing Clara's father, grandfather, uncle, some sort of family member.

Actually...

Spoiler:- Richard E. Grant's character:

...is apparently an antagonist. I heard this on a radio interview with Steven Moffat last week in which he offhandedly mentioned that they've started filming the Christmas episode and Grant plays a great villain in it.

Originally Posted by Wasarym

Spoiler:- Rambling:

* I wonder what that ice planet is for... I'm reminded of Yggdrasil, "The World Tree" of norse mythology. Take what you will from this, I'm in a hurry.

Spoiler:- Reply:

I think the ice planet is from Asylum of the Daleks; the earlier trailer from March seems to indicate so. Dunno what the Daleks are doing there, though. It might even just be a snowy part of Earth.

Spoiler:- Rambling:

* The Doctor seems to feel very guilty for "killing with mercy". I find it interesting that he mentions "the Masters." Seems he feels guilty for making The Master regenerate so many times. Also, apparently he's been traveling alone. That's never good for the Doctor, but the results are always compelling.

Spoiler:- Reply:

I don't think that's what he's saying. I think he feels guilty that, because of all the times he's shown mercy to villains (such as the Daleks or the Master) and let them live when he could have killed them, those villains have gone on to kill countless more innocent people. He feels that the blood of all those victims is on his hands because he's too merciful to the bad guys.

And yeah, he's been travelling alone. Don't you remember? Ever since The God Complex, where he left Amy and Rory at home so he wouldn't endanger their lives any more. And according to him, it's been at least 194 years from his perspective since then, so he really has been on his own for a long time.

(I totally agree with you that prolonged solitude always tends to have interesting results on the Doctor. =D)

Although when I said dark side, I meant a more Seventh Doctor kind of dark. But comparing the current Doctor and the Seventh gives an interesting contrast. On the one hand, we have a whimsical Doctor who hides an angry yet guilty side, and on the other, we have a whimsical Doctor who is actually very manipulative.

I can't really comment on this as I don't know the Seventh Doctor myself, although I have heard about how he can often be quite the manipulative chessmaster type. But... surely he's only ever manipulative in ways that he knows will eventually end well for the people he cares about? For example, I read that once he was extremely cruel to Ace in order to break her faith in him, because this was the only way to save her life in a situation similar to The God Complex. So his actions may seem cold on the outside but ultimately he does them because he cares... right?

Not entirely sure where I'm going with this. I think what I'm trying to say is that, personally, I don't think there is anything ultimately wrong with the Doctor telling lies that are part of his plan and will eventually benefit people, whereas lies he tells simply because, emotionally, he doesn't want to admit the truth are not so good. And I don't really know about the Seventh Doctor, but the Eleventh Doctor tends to do a lot of the latter kind of lying. (Or at least he did up until The God Complex. We'll see soon if he can keep up his more recent honest form.)

Something like that. This still isn't me trying to argue against what you said or anything; I'm just having a ramble.

...and what better place than in the Doctor's second to last regeneration.

Haha, do you really think that the show is going to be over once the Doctor gets to the end of his thirteenth incarnation? =P Steven Moffat's often said in interviews that if it ever comes to that, they'll deal with it using the writers' "emergency protocol": they'll make something up!

Originally Posted by The Eleventh

There's a "revamped logo, no more swooshy cast credits [and] new typography."

D:

This makes me sad. I liked that there were swooshy cast credits!

Also, yay titles!

Spoiler:- Episode 4's title:

The Power of Three; nice. In one way it means the same thing as Cubed, but in another way it's far more meaningfully referring to how the episode is supposedly about Amy and Rory's lives with the Doctor than the tentative title was.

Aside from the titles, there's been a slow trickle of new stuff coming in. There's this teaser trailer for Asylum of the Daleks, which isn't much but does have one rather interesting thing in it.

Spoiler:- Dalek teaser trail:

"Save the Daleks"?

Well. That's going to end up relevant to A Town Called Mercy.

(or at least I hope it is. But shush.)

Then there's a gallery of images from the half-series in general. Most of them don't really show us anything we haven't seen in trailers, but there was one that caught my eye. Spoiler:- Images:

...namely, the one with the TARDIS mid-materialisation on Amy and Rory's street as the Pond couple watch. I'm pretty sure she's not dematerialising, because Amy and Rory are in the outfits they're in for Asylum of the Daleks, and it doesn't make sense for the Doctor to be leaving them behind at home during that episode. What this does mean is that Asylum of the Daleks doesn't follow on directly from Christmas; the Doctor must have left them there after their adorable heartwarming Christmas dinner together, and then this is him showing up again sometime later. I wonder why. By which I mean I'm really, really curious, and I always have been, about what's making him willing to put himself back in their lives despite everything that happened last series.

Plus a gallery specific to Asylum, which again isn't telling us much plotwise, but oh my god the Doctor is clearly going to be put through the whole gamut of emotions in this episode and why isn't it September yet. Aaaa.

I also found a couple of interviews with the cast and stuff like that, but nothing that really gave too much juicy info - just some general stuff about how these five episodes are going to focus a lot on the Ponds, understandably. There was also Matt Smith offhandedly mentioning that the Doctor is 900-odd years old while describing him, which caught me off-guard - isn't he at least 1103 now? But that was probably just Matt not really thinking too hard and being so used to saying the Doctor is 900 because he was until recently. That said, it could turn out to be the case that the Doctor was lying when he claimed to be 1103 (and that the writer who seemingly confirmed the 194-year gap was also lying/didn't know better), but I kind of hope not because god dammit Doctor I know you lie a lot but I've spent so long believing this one to be the truth and gah.

In one of the interviews, I also particularly liked this:

Interviewer: In one word, can you describe the Doctor?Steven Moffat: *pauses, thinks for a moment* ...No.

Isn't that just so very true? =D (When Matt Smith was asked the same question, he came up with "Alien", which probably is the most accurate way to describe the Doctor if you can only use a single word.)

~11 days to go, hopefully really properly this time!~

-elyvorg/Amelia

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010

I took it for fact that the doctor was 1103 at Lake Silencio... and the 903 year old one returned later that episode... but now that I see those two numbers together, yeah, isn't the most convincing the lie the one closest to the truth? And as River says, "Rule #1, the Doctor lies."

Okay... so far from recent, but did anyone else notice that in the background of "The Long Game" the newscaster announced that the Face of Boe was pregnant? Are we ever going to see his kid?

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

Major yay. Asylum will be broadcast at 19:20, which is an exceptionally perfect time. That means September shall indeed be Doctor Who month, and that we've only got one more Who-less Saturday. Molto bene.

Originally Posted by elyvorg

Spoiler:- Richard E. Grant's character:

...is apparently an antagonist. I heard this on a radio interview with Steven Moffat last week in which he offhandedly mentioned that they've started filming the Christmas episode and Grant plays a great villain in it.

Spoiler:- Reply:

He could still be related to her. ;)

Speaking of Clara, her background has become apparent. For those who wish to know... (This only reveals the time period she hails from.)

Spoiler:

She's from Victorian times. How brilliant. At least two episodes set in her time are in store (the Christmas Special and the Jenny and Vastra episodes). I'm really looking forward to this change, since all of the previous New Who companions are denizens of the modern day.

Spoiler:- Reply:

I think the ice planet is from Asylum of the Daleks; the earlier trailer from March seems to indicate so. Dunno what the Daleks are doing there, though. It might even just be a snowy part of Earth.

Spoiler:- Planet:

Well, we shall be visiting a certain planet in Asylum, if you catch my drift. The icy planet could be that planet. Aaah, my mind is racing with ideas regarding episode one's story. "Save the Daleks"... The Doctor, Amy and Rory being sent to the icy planet by the Daleks... The possibility that the icy planet could be that planet... the asylum itself... Hurry up, 1st September!

Also, yay titles!

The titles will also feature logos unique to each episode, it seems. Instead of the usual title written in plain font, we'll be treated with custom... things. Like, for Dinosaurs, the title could be in a scaly font. That sort of thing.

Anyway, I just bought SFX magazine and it features an interview with Moffat. I hope there'll be something of note in there. DWM should also be out soon.

Originally Posted by VampirateMace

Okay... so far from recent, but did anyone else notice that in the background of "The Long Game" the newscaster announced that the Face of Boe was pregnant? Are we ever going to see his kid?

Jack sure gets around.

-The Eleventh/Rory Williams.

e:

Originally Posted by elyvorg

Spoiler:- Images:

...namely, the one with the TARDIS mid-materialisation on Amy and Rory's street as the Pond couple watch. I'm pretty sure she's not dematerialising, because Amy and Rory are in the outfits they're in for Asylum of the Daleks, and it doesn't make sense for the Doctor to be leaving them behind at home during that episode. What this does mean is that Asylum of the Daleks doesn't follow on directly from Christmas; the Doctor must have left them there after their adorable heartwarming Christmas dinner together, and then this is him showing up again sometime later. I wonder why. By which I mean I'm really, really curious, and I always have been, about what's making him willing to put himself back in their lives despite everything that happened last series.

Spoiler:

Actually, I think they will be left back home after Asylum, due to the manner in which Dinosaurs starts. ;)

A series of five prequels have also been announced, named Pond Life. Some fans actually used that as a title for a potential Amy and Rory spin-off series, I recall. Anyway, one prequel will be posted online everyday from Monday. They'll detail Amy and Rory's life in between their trips in the TARDIS. It's strange how the two alternate between normal life and travelling in the TARDIS at random intervals...

Which brings me onto this new trailer released by BBC America. I want to watch it a few more times before commenting properly, but...

Spoiler:- Trailer:

I am so bloody excited for this series. Its visuals are just fabulous. There's Amy and the Doctor discussing leaving (oh noes, he's noticed that they're contemplating going. Sad. Moffat, you better not kill either of them so the Doctor'll feel even more pain, since they were so close to being safe. ;_;), River and the Doctor versus Angels (!) and a nice bit of self-reference ("Out of ten? Eleven."). I also love Karen's "I've really missed this." Don't go!

And oh my god Amelia from The Eleventh Hour. I've heard that a piece of TEH plays an important part in Amy and Rory's end. Oh, Moffat, planning so far in advance.

...oh, so it looks like The Eleventh mentioned it first in an edit to his post, but yes! Pond Life!

Spoiler:- Really minor spoilers for its premise:

Apparently it deals with Amy and Rory trying to live an ordinary domestic life while the Doctor keeps repeatedly popping in and whisking them off to space every so often. Presumably it is set after Christmas, because before then the Doctor wouldn't have been popping in regularly, and it also definitely has the Doctor actually in it rather than just as an offscreen presence because it has been said to feature Matt as well as Karen and Arthur.

Seriously. There are no words for how happy this makes me. All along in the lead-up to this series I've wanted there to be some kind of addressing of how and why Amy and Rory are still travelling with the Doctor despite everything, and this is clearly going to be an excellent source of that. I've occasionally dared to hope that these issues might have been addressed in a prequel to the first episode, a bit like the Doctor-featuring prequels we've seen before - but a five-part mini-series is just way, way more than I could ever have imagined. And recently the little short instalments such as the prequels or the DVD bonus scenes have been amazing and adorable and packing in so much fun charactery stuff for their short length that I'm completely expecting Pond Life to be no exception and for me to love it just as much as I do those other extra scenes. I can barely wait until next Monday now.

Spoiler:- And back to minor premise-spoilers:

And I'm also incredibly in-universe happy just at hearing how the Doctor has apparently started dealing with Amy and Rory's lives since Christmas: seeing them often enough that he doesn't get lonely, but making the trips sporadic enough and always leaving them back at home after each one to minimize the chances of putting them in danger. Thanks to Christmas, things have turned into the Doctor simply trying to make the people he loves happy by taking them on wonderful trips. That's adorable. :3 Even if Amy and Rory might be getting a certain amount of mood-whiplash due to constantly going from ordinary-everyday-life to ~wonders-of-the-universe!~ and back.

Also Arthur said in that interview that there's a slight overarching thing running through all five parts which culminates into a massive cliffhanger leading onto Asylum of the Daleks. Yay! I loves me some cliffhangers, and I wasn't really expecting any this series what with the lack of two-parters. That'll really help me get hyped for the beginning of the series proper!

Also, wow, that American trailer is pretty damn amazing. I too may be back later once I've come up with something more coherent to say about it.

Ten days until the Asylum, but only five days until we see the Ponds again! Aaaaaa. :3

-elyvorg/Amelia

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010

Yay for an Asylum trailer that tells us a lot more than the last one did!

Spoiler:- New Asylum trailer:

So the Daleks are seemingly trying to get rid of their "impure" versions by pointing the Doctor at them and watching chaos ensue. Heh. It is pretty interesting to see that all the explosions and Dalek-massacring that's been going on in trailers is possibly exactly what the Daleks want the Doctor to do. There's definitely going to be more to this than just "Daleks blow up, the Doctor wins".

I like how the Daleks have given the Doctor yet another melodramatically ominous title. Oh, Daleks. They pretend like they're not afraid of the Doctor, but they're clearly terrified of him. Hee.

I have to admit to having a bit of a raised eyebrow at the Doctor's claim that he's "a man with a plan". He never usually has a plan - the only times he really has done (in his Eleventh incarnation, I mean) is when he's had a long time to come up with one beforehand.

As for Amy and Rory's role in this, I'm beginning to assume that the Daleks brought them there largely as leverage over the Doctor to force him to do what they want, or something. But then again, trying to get to the Doctor through the people he loves is generally not a good idea, so maybe not.

Also, I found a brief synopsis of the episode:

Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission - to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter...

...the Daleks themselves are terrified of this asylum? Huh. That doesn't really make sense if all it contains are older models of Dalek. Hmm.

I like that the trailer uses The Majestic Tale (of a Madman in a Box) as its music. =D That piece really is meant for the Doctor's general awesomeness and not just that one scene in Day of the Moon.

Meanwhile, I've been gathering a few things about Pond Life recently...

Spoiler:- More Pond Life premise ramblings:

So I read some synopsisy stuff about it that said that, rather than Pond Life featuring the Doctor repeatedly dropping in on the Ponds, he's trying to visit the Ponds but part of the TARDIS has malfunctioned and caused him to pop up all over the place in time and space instead. Presumably, though, the stuff mentioned about how the Doctor's been constantly showing up and taking Amy and Rory into space in between them trying to live a normal life still has been canonically happening, just offscreen prior to Pond Life. Then maybe the Amy and Rory parts of Pond Life are them discussing his tendency to do this and wondering what's taking him so long this time, or something.

I wonder if the TARDIS's malfunction has anything to do with the supposed cliffhanger there's going to be. Maybe the Daleks somehow caused it as part of their plan to reel in the Doctor?

Also, given stuff The Eleventh has been hinting about Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, I'm beginning to think that the whole deal with the Doctor repeatedly visiting the Ponds, taking them on an adventure and then dropping them off back home is going to be what is happening throughout the series proper. Each episode would be one of these trips, and in between the episodes they'd go back to their normal life for a while until he shows up again at the beginning of the next one. Except that doesn't quite add up with First Night, the DVD bonus scene in which Amy and Rory were apparently asleep on the TARDIS post-Wedding of River Song, implying that they do get back to permanently travelling at least for a bit. Eh.

Aaand some coherent (meaning: long and rambly) thoughts about the BBC America trailer.

Spoiler:- American trailer rambles:

"We could end this right now. We could save everyone right now.""This is not how we roll, and you know it!"

I get the strong impression that this exchange very closely precedes the exchange in the BBC trailer about mercy. And so what I think the Doctor is advocating here is that they just kill the antagonist of the episode straight away without giving him a chance, so that he won't take any more innocent lives. Which if you look at it one way is a valid approach, but D: . Like Amy says, that is so not like the Doctor, and being on his own seems to have really changed him, even despite the fact that his solitude has apparently been interspersed with visits to the Ponds more recently. I am really looking forward to getting the full picture here.

"You're thinking of stopping, aren't you? You and Rory.""The travelling is starting to feel like running away."

Two things:

-aaaa the Doctor has noticed this. I mean, of course he has; even last series he was often watching Amy and Rory from a distance and noticing something was up with them. At least this time he doesn't seem to be particularly struggling to bring it up. But still, D: . Of course he'd leave them be if that was really what they wanted, but it would still break his heart, and he knows that day is coming even before it's actually there and aaa. :<

-aaaa Amy still hasn't stopped running away from a normal adult life. Running away was always what the travelling was for her back when she started, but I thought she'd got over that; it's not good that she's started feeling that way again. And at the end of The God Complex the Doctor described the ordinary life waiting for her with Rory as "an even bigger, scarier adventure", but the impression at the time was that she'd grown the courage to face it. She even went and started her perfume business and everything. And yet...

This goes to show that Amy constantly getting sucked into the Doctor's world is not just the Doctor's fault. He's giving her the opportunity, sure, but it's Amy who's choosing to take it due to her own issues with struggling to grow up*. Aaa. Amy is adorable. Maybe we'll see glimpses of this in Pond Life?

(*even though the Doctor almost definitely considers it largely his fault that she even has those issues. But still.)

Amelia! It's pretty clear from my character title how much I love the part of Amy that's still that seven year old girl inside and the part of the Doctor that still sees her that way. I am very excited to see that little Amelia will seemingly be involved in Amy's departure in a big way. Maybe even in a plotty way, if it is indeed true that something in The Eleventh Hour will be relevant here, especially given the trailer's narration about beginnings, middles and ends not always happening in that order.

Crazy speculation: the Doctor, from right at the end of his time with the Ponds, goes back to see Amelia shortly after he first met her and tells her something that, when she remembers it in the future, will finally convince her to move on from him and face up to being an adult. He'd also have to tell her never ever to mention this to his past self, otherwise we'd have heard about it by now. ...I don't think this is particularly likely to be right, though, because it's rather too similar to what goes on in The Big Bang and doesn't really fit with Amy having not expected him to take twelve years to come back in The Eleventh Hour. It would at least fit as the "something Karen Gillan has been told about Amy that even Matt Smith didn't know prior to series 7" that I've been wondering about for a while.

Where's everyone gone, by the way? There's a whole load of trailers and exciting stuff to discuss now, and the series is only a week away. Join in!

~a week until the Daleks, two days until the Ponds!~

-elyvorg/Amelia

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010

I haven't even seen this trailer (and I can't so long as I'm pretending to do homework!). But I definietly will later; I'm totally excited!

I think I've found a way that I'll watch the new series with y'all: I'll find a livestream and watch it (hopefully someone will be live streaming it). Thankfully it airs on Saturday, because with the difference in time zones I probably couldn't watch on a weekday (damned school!).

I think I'm gonna miss the overall arc-y-ness of last season. In fact, I'm gonna miss the arc-y-ness of all of Moffat's Who. Series five had the big bang, with clues throughout the series (all those cracks in time + TARDIS pieces); series six had "who are the silence" and River Song too. I hope the no-overarching plot thing is a total lie . . . but it seems the cliffhanger of this season is Amy and Rory's departure Which I’m dreading.

I'm excited for the new season, but no Arc? How does that work in Doctor Who? It's time travel, everything is relevant to everything else.

Anyone else find the "-blank- of Doctor Who" specials disappointing? I've watched a couple, but it's mostly people making obvious or bland comments on things we already know. No speculation or extra information, and the in the Science special they explained how forward time travel IS possible, then give time travel a 3/5 for plausablity. What? You proved it in at least one direction, can't you bother to give it a 4?

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

Tuesday before a series begins to air! This means there is a Radio Times with all its usual synopsisy goodness about all the episodes in this half-series. This one has me very, very excited. :3

Spoiler:- Radio Times:

Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks
The Dalek Asylum: a planetoid filled with battle-scarred, insane Daleks that even the normal Daleks are terrified of. The Doctor always dismissed the place as a myth, but it's not. After a plea from a mysterious woman named Darla von Karlsen to rescue her daughter, it's where he, Amy and Rory are headed.

The way the synopsis describes the Asylum makes it sound like a really dangerous, terrifying place, and the Doctor's got to get himself, and the Ponds, and this woman's daughter out alive. This should be a seriously awesome episode. I also read a little more about it on the Radio Times website, which I think might have slightly spoiled me for the outcome of Pond Life, so... Spoiler:- Possible Pond Life spoilers?:

Apparently, Amy and Rory's relationship is getting kind of strained, so that on top of everything else, the Doctor also has to try and rescue their marriage.

D:! Amy and Rory! What happened? I know it's been two years and a lot could have gone on in that time, but still.

Incidentally, the Paradigm Daleks have a new paint job that's darker and more metallic and in my opinion actually looks pretty cool. And apparently the episode has some kind of top-secret epic surprise just after the title sequence. Ooh.

Episode 2: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
There's a spaceship crashing to earth - one from 65 and a half million years ago and full of dinosaurs. In order to save both humanity and the last of the dinosaurs, the Doctor and the Ponds recruit big game hunter John Riddell (so that guy with the gun isn't Howard Carter after all :<), Nefertiti and Rory's dad. (Not entirely sure why the latter two would be any help with dinosaurs on a spaceship, but I'm sure we'll see.)

Episode 3: A Town Called Mercy
A town in the Old West is under siege; just leaving the town's boundaries summons a not-quite-human killer from the desert. In this conflict between the cyborg killer and an alien fugitive, it's not easy to figure out whose side to be on and who is the victim. But this time, the Doctor doesn't seem to care. Maybe the long days of travelling on his own in between seeing the Ponds have taken their toll on him, because for once, he picks up a gun...

D: My thoughts on this in one of my other spoilers this post.

Episode 4: The Power of Three
The human race wakes up one morning to find that small black cubes have appeared everywhere overnight, cubes that proceed to... do nothing much at all. Clearly, something's going on, some kind of invasion is going to happen - but how, and more importantly, when? This time, in order to save the world, the Doctor has to be patient. And in the meantime, while he's waiting, he moves in with the Ponds!

So basically this episode is half about the alien invasion and half about life for a married couple who just happen to have the Doctor living in their spare room. Hee! I absolutely loved The Lodger for similar reasons, but this promises to be ten times as adorable and hilarious as that episode. After all, it's Amy and Rory, the people he loves most in the world right now, that the Doctor's living with, and he'll seemingly be there for way, way longer. And he is the worst person at being patient. And, seriously, this episode. Ridiculously looking forward to it now!

Episode 5: The Angels Take Manhattan"Never let him see the damage. And never, ever let him see you age. He doesn't like endings."

The Doctor has been a part of the Ponds' life for so long now. He's barely even noticed that his little Amelia has started wearing reading glasses. Surely things can stay this way forever? Surely, at last, he's found a family and the closest thing to a home he could ever hope for?

In New York, the Weeping Angels have other ideas; not even River's help can stop their plans to change destiny. And heartbreak hurts even more when you have two of them...

Mmmsghghgf. THIS. Especially coming straight on the heels of the Doctor literally living with Amy and Rory, this is going to be the adorablest, most heartbreaking thing ever. I am such a sap for how much Amy and Rory mean to the Doctor, and this episode is clearly stuffed with that kind of thing. And it sounds like the Doctor is desperately trying to convince himself that everything is fine and he's totally never going to lose them, because being with them makes him really, truly happy. And that quote! I'm thinking maybe River says it? But either way, the Ponds seem to be trying to keep up that happy illusion for as long as possible for the Doctor's sake, and d'awwww. D:

And the Weeping Angels! Back in Blink, it was said they feed off potential energy, all the "stolen moments" of a life someone could have led but didn't because the Angels intervened. Maybe this is what they're trying to do to the Doctor and the Ponds? Maybe there are other ways they can get themselves a meal that are more than just sending someone back in time?

Aaaaa. I cannot quite get over how much I know I'm going to absolutely adore this half-series right now. It seems like it'll have such a running theme, leading on from Christmas, of the Doctor becoming increasingly more a part of the Pond family and feeling more and more at home and happy with them, only to have that all cruelly torn away from him in the end. Oh god. Steven Moffat is an evil man and I love him for it.

An arc this half-series? I admittedly still doubt there will be much of a plotty arc, but reading the Radio Times has very much given me the impression that there's going to be a big charactery kind of arc. I for one am very, very much looking forward to such a thing.

And as part of this arc, Pond Life has been happening! It is wonderful.

Spoiler:- Pond Life - April:

Eeee, this had me giggling so hard. The rapping part in particular just killed me for some reason. (It's high time we saw more of the Doctor's hilarious dancing! Also, HAT.) This stands as proof that absolutely everything is instantly improved when you add the Doctor to it. x3

Aside from that, on a less never-knowingly-serious note, I find it kind of adorable how the Doctor's been leaving frequent messages - this clearly isn't the first one of its kind, judging by Amy and Rory's nonplussed reaction and the way they casually delete it - on the Ponds' answerphone detailing his recent hijinks. It's a nice contrast with the "waving out of history" he did in the 194-year gap, as well as with the prequel to TDTWTW where he was phoning Amy except very much not. He clearly still has that urge to stay in contact with Amy and Rory during his mad adventures because he misses them, but this time they're actually, definitely there and listening as opposed to him just pretending they are. Since Christmas, things have got much better than before. :3

...But this is all me extrapolating ridiculously from about ten seconds' worth of stuff. I'm sure it'll become way more readily apparent what the Pond-Doctor communications have been like in the remaining parts. Roll on the rest of the week! =D

(I presume that this one being in April means that it'll be the next month on for each of the next parts, going up to August in the final part, which then leads into the series beginning in September! Yay. Even though it's actually 2014 for the Ponds.)

(The contents of this spoiler were written on the day this part aired, when I hadn't seen the next one.)

Spoiler:- Pond Life - May:

This is adorable. I love the sense we're getting of Amy and Rory's "ordinary" life with their best friend the time-travelling madman constantly popping in in the wrong order. It's quite impressive what they're willing to put up with from him. The Doctor is clearly showing up/leaving messages/etc way more often than once a month, despite what we're seeing, because there's only been five months since Christmas but they're already completely used to his shenanigans. They've even laid down ground rules as to where in the house he is and isn't allowed to suddenly show up. x3

I'm kind of curious about the important dangerous thing that the Doctor was supposed to be recruiting their help with - considering that this version of the Doctor had experienced at least up to Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, I wonder if it might become apparent in the series what he needed the Ponds for here.

Also, he's blatantly lying to them about the future being totally safe. I thought he'd stopped lying to them. D:

I knew I'd love this. :3 The series itself hasn't even started yet but already this is making me so, so happy.

Meanwhile, I've been playing piece-together-a-scene-from-multiple-trailers and I've found a little bit more context for that one exchange in A Town Called Mercy. Spoiler:- Mercy and guns:

In this trailer from back in March (what I like to call the "aggressive stairs" trailer), there's the Doctor throwing a guy outside the town's boundaries and pointing a gun at him. This is seemingly shortly followed by Amy saying "You've clearly been taking stupid lessons since I last saw you!" Judging by the surroundings, this is what leads into the conversation about mercy and saving everyone that we've seen in the more recent BBC and BBC America trailers. So it appears that the Doctor was literally about to just shoot this guy dead under the assumption that it would fix everything before Amy butted in and pointed out that this is not his style. D: He really has been taking stupid lessons! What's happened to him? Also note the "since I last saw you" in Amy's line - the last time she saw the Doctor before this would be Dinosaurs on a Spaceship at the earliest. Has he really changed that much that quickly? I am so, so intrigued for this episode.

Spoiler:- Mentioning stuff from the Radio Times:

The guy in question that the Doctor points his gun at is the guy with the strange marking on the side of his face. I'm assuming that he's the fugitive spoken of in the synopsis (whose name is seemingly Kahler Jex), and that maybe the Doctor thinks that if he just kills Kahler Jex then the cyborg Gunslinger that's (presumably) after the fugitive will leave the town alone and not hurt any more innocents.

I wonder about the marking on the guy's face. Perhaps that's what marks him out as a fugitive? I'm interested because apparently - judging from the aggressive stairs trailer - at some point in the episode the Doctor willingly gets the same marking painted on his own face. Is he trying to attract the Gunslinger's attention towards him as part of some kind of clever plan? Hmm.

Four more days. I am going to love this half-series so much.

-elyvorg/Amelia

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010

When I first heard about the pond life prequels I thought that they were going to be all boring and such, but I'm actually really enjoying them! Especially today's (June I believe?) with the ood on the loo, it was fairly stupid but I definately laughed uncontrollably for atleast a minute...

Ooh and asylum is so close I just can't even stand it! It's always those last few days that are impossible! I'm going over to my friends house and were baking a TARDIS cake so hopefully that turns out well... I'm actually fairly scared for this season though... I rewatched doomsday from season two for about the billionth time today, and definately relived some emotional trauma there... I swear every companion (besides Martha only because it was so... Casual?) leaving just makes me so much more upset then it should, and I doubt the ponds will be an exception... GAHHHHH ANGLES TAKE MANHATTEN CAN JUST STAY IN THE BBC SECRET FILES OR WHATEVER FOREVER I DON'T WANT IT TO EXIST BLEHHHH.

Just watched Pond Life (you know, the first three episodes) and loved it. Wish it was a bit longer, but loved it. It's wacky, but it's also refreshing to see Amy and Rory again, especially considering the lack of actual-Amy and actual-Rory we say in the last three episodes (Closing Time = cameo, TWORS = alternate universe, mostly, and the christmas special = only at the end).

I'm going to try to remain spoiler free this series, but at the same time wish me luck in finding a live stream to the first episode on Saturday!

And also wish me luck because there's no way in hell I'm gonna be able to do a physics project in one night. If only I had a TARDIS! Speaking of projects I'm using Doctor Who as one of my texts for an english report. The connection between texts I'm doing is companionship, and well the doctor's companions are actually called companions. But mostly I'm focusing on Doctor/Amy (I would do a rewatch of the last two series for it but you know haven't bought the DVDs!).

I know, right? Isn't Pond Life just so delightful and funny, even though it's kind of short? =D

In fact, despite that it's short, I like how it gives enough of an implication that what we're seeing is by no means all of the shenanigans that have been going on, making it fun to imagine what else might have been happening in the Ponds' life that we haven't got to see.

Spoiler:- Pond Life - June:

It says a lot about how welcome the Doctor now feels in Amy and Rory's house that he's perfectly happy to randomly leave various friendly aliens in awkward places. :3

Rory's reaction was priceless; I was giggling at it even before I knew what he was reacting to. And I can imagine the Doctor, soon after this (in a wibbly wobbly sense of "soon"), getting a phone call from a rather irate Amy asking why on earth there is an Ood in their bathroom and could he please take it away.

(...so I also wrote this one before seeing today's instalment. Heh.)

Spoiler:- Pond Life - July:

I like that the separate parts are beginning to feel more connected now! So apparently the Doctor didn't deliberately dump the Ood on them, at least. He rescued him from the "Androvax wars" - yay for a little SJA reference! Much amusement at seeing an Ood performing modern-day-Earth household chores (and Rory's awkwardness and guilt since it's basically slave labour). xP

I utterly love Amy pinching a sausage from Rory's plate when he's not looking and the faces they make at each other when he notices. Hee. Those two. They are adorable even without factoring the Doctor's madness into their relationship. :3

It's also fun to get even more of a sense of how out-of-sync the Doctor and the Ponds are thanks to the delight that is time travel. It seems that Amy (or Rory) really did phone the Doctor up to complain about the Ood, but he was busy and it went to answerphone (I wonder if he still has the same "leave a message after the tone" recording that he had in the Let's Kill Hitler prequel? 8D). And then when he got the message and phoned them back, the call happened to land in July, not June, so that in the meantime they'd had to live with the Ood for a month. Oh, the repercussions of trying to keep up with a friend whose timeline is not parallel to yours. It's actually kind of interesting to think about. The effects were harmless enough this time, but worse things could potentially happen if the TARDIS keeps failing to keep the Doctor in sync with them. I don't think this is necessarily just the wonky helmic regulator's fault, either - dear old Sexy has never been one for linearity, has she?

(Speaking of her, I hope she's okay after whatever went wrong with her at the end. Threatening to implode due to a power drain does not sound healthy. D: )

And I'm particularly looking forward to the final instalment tomorrow, because apparently there's going to be some kind of epic cliffhanger in it, so that should be fun.

Originally Posted by Pansy :]

I'm actually fairly scared for this season though... I rewatched doomsday from season two for about the billionth time today, and definately relived some emotional trauma there... I swear every companion (besides Martha only because it was so... Casual?) leaving just makes me so much more upset then it should, and I doubt the ponds will be an exception... GAHHHHH ANGLES TAKE MANHATTEN CAN JUST STAY IN THE BBC SECRET FILES OR WHATEVER FOREVER I DON'T WANT IT TO EXIST BLEHHHH.

Aww, but we can't not see the episode! Yes, it's going to break our hearts, but if we never saw it, then at Christmas we'd just suddenly find ourselves watching Doctor Who with the Ponds not there and the Doctor all kinds of heartbroken and we'd never know why. That would be even worse, surely? We have to be brave. *nodnod*

(Well, actually, I'm personally not scared for the Angel episode at all because I'm one of those people who genuinely likes having their heart broken by fiction, but.)

Also, a TARDIS cake sounds awesome. Good luck with that. :3

Originally Posted by kjt

Speaking of projects I'm using Doctor Who as one of my texts for an english report. The connection between texts I'm doing is companionship, and well the doctor's companions are actually called companions. But mostly I'm focusing on Doctor/Amy (I would do a rewatch of the last two series for it but you know haven't bought the DVDs!).

That's... wow. I actually really envy you! You have a valid reason to go all overanalytical on something in Doctor Who for an English project. How I wish I ever had an opportunity like that back when I still had English classes. I'm sure you'll have fun with it! Companionship is such a good topic, too, especially focusing on the Doctor and Amy. They are adorable together and have a really fascinating relationship.

(and, you know, if you ever need someone to look up scenes from the episodes that you don't have access to, then I'd be perfectly happy to do that and maybe also ramble a bit myself to give you ideas on what to talk about. Because I totally don't just want an excuse to ramble more about the Doctor and Amy. >.> <.<)

Remember how, about a month ago, when the series anticipation was only just starting to build, they released a really awesome image for Asylum of the Daleks? Well, now they've done the same for the other four episodes. Except these are really less "images" and more "movie posters". They're awesome. Steven Moffat really wasn't kidding when he said he wanted this series to have episodes with big, mad, movie-poster concepts.

Spoiler:- Rambles on a couple of those posters:

I'm especially fond of the ones for The Power of Three and The Angels Take Manhattan (more zoom-in-able versions in those links), because, although I can't exactly say for sure as I haven't seen the series yet, I feel like they might be kind of symbolic for the themes and outcomes of their respective episodes. The mosaic of tiny little images in the Power of Three one consists entirely of images from past episodes with the Doctor, Amy and Rory, making it feel like this episode is going to be really heavily about these three and how close they've become throughout all the adventures they've shared, and maybe that this connection of theirs might end up relevant to resolving the plot. Meanwhile, with the Angels one, not only are Amy and Rory praying for some reason, but the way they're the same kind of grayscale as the Angels that are reaching for them, in contrast with the Doctor in full colour at the front, seems really ominous with regards to what fate might befall them. It took me a little while to spot that the TARDIS is also in the background there; since it wasn't easy to notice, I doubt it's there just because it looks nice, so I feel that might be relevant somehow, too. And then there's the question of why the Doctor is almost completely covering his face like a Weeping Angel does. The only thought I can come up with at the moment is that, well - we know that losing Amy and Rory is going to break the Doctor's hearts, and that habit of covering their faces is what gives the Angels the "Weeping" part of their name, so... D:

...I like trying to interpret things. Shush.

Sometime later on when I'm back at university and being a geeky student again, I may have to see if I can find myself actual poster versions of at least one of these for my room. As beautiful as my poster of Vincent's painting "The Pandorica Opens" is, I'm kind of used to seeing it by now.

Two days! Two days.

-elyvorg/Amelia

.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :.LOST EVOLUTIONChapter 33: Inside has been posted.

Foregone ConclusionSpinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010